Monday, May 23, 2011

I must be stuck in a Corrie ten Boom theme...

As most homeschool moms...I'm going through our homeschool books and seeing what I have already and what I need to order for next year.  As I was going through the book shelf, I came across another Corrie ten Boom book, Tramp for the Lord
Tramp for the Lord        We picked this up for $.25 at the library book sale years ago. (Which, for those of you that live close by, is this week! I have found many treasures at those book sales.) 

I pulled the book off the shelf and started to read it.  Written in short, daily-reading chapters, I was able to read an entire chapter in just a few minutes.  There I sat, cross-legged on the floor at the foot of the bookshelf, crying.  And you know, I couldn't put the book down!  The first couple of chapters are "repeats" from The Hiding Place only in more detail.  After that, they go on to tell of her ministry after the war. 

Stories of:
  • How dear friends treated her badly and how she had to ask forgiveness for the bitterness and resentment she felt toward them.  Even after surrendering that to the Lord, it would come back to her mind several times and she would have to surrender it all over again.  The Lord filled her with His love towards them.
  • How she had been injured in a fall and asked for someone to come pray over her for healing.  When the man had laid his hands on her head and prayed, she said, "I felt a great stream of power flowing through me.  Such great joy.  The mourning left and I wanted to sing with David: 'Thou has turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.' Psalms 30:11.  I felt the Presence of the Lord Jesus all around me and felt His love flowing through me and over me as if I were being immersed in an ocean of grace. My joy became so intense that I finally prayed, 'No more, Lord, no more." My heart felt it was about to burst, so great was the joy.  I knew it was the wonderful experience promised by Jesus - the Baptism in the Holy Spirit." 
    Corrie ten Boom's account reminded me of D.L. Moody's experience, "the power of God fell upon him as he walked up the street and he had to hurry off to the house of a friend and ask that he might have a room by himself, and in that room he stayed alone for hours; and the Holy Ghost came upon him filling his soul with such joy that at last he had to ask God to withhold His hand, lest he die on the spot from very joy." Here is a link that tells D.L. Moody's story and several others - R.A. Torrey, Billy Sunday, Charles Finney, and Charles Spurgeon.  I had read this story years ago and wanted to you be able to read it in its entirety, so I searched for a web site with the information and just found this link today.
  • How there was resistance to her ministry in America.  Her discouragement when some Americans were telling her that perhaps she would be better off if she simply returned to Holland.  Continuing to follow God's leading to "press on",  the tables turned and instead of no ministry opportunities, she had to guard against too many. 

1 comment:

  1. Special times when God allows you to rediscover something so special. I don't understand why people would discourage such a saint. I guess the times were very different.

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